Golden Globes 2018 Nominees Announced and ‘Get Out’ is Apparently a Comedy

The 75th Golden Globe Awards nominations came out this morning and, as previously reported, the thriller Get Out is a finalist in the category of “Best Picture — Comedy or Musical.” Get Out‘s star, Daniel Kaluuya, was also nominated for “Best Performance in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical.”

Get Out is a tense, thoughtful work with only one character who may be considered comic relief. And at no point does anyone break out into song and dance. Even Jordan Peele, the film’s writer and director, didn’t understand why a thriller about systemic racism was submitted into that category. His response: “Get Out is a documentary.”

An argument can be made that Get Out uses racial satire to propel a tale of horror. But even then, it’s more poignant than “ha-ha.” No one should see the film and laugh.

It’s important to point out that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which runs the Golden Globes, does not categorize the nominees. That’s done by the studios and production companies who submit the nominees — Universal and Blumhouse, in Get Out‘s case.

So why would Universal and Blumhouse purposefully mis-categorize their own movie? Likely because Get Out stands a better chance of winning in the Comedy and Musical category than it will in Drama, where it would be pitted against the likes of The Shape of Water and Dunkirk. (Unlike the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes breaks its Best Picture category into two — Comedy/Musical and Drama.)

But in doing so, they deliberately sidestepped submission rules. The Golden Globes award consideration rules say that “Motion pictures shall be entered in the category that best matches the overall tone and content of the motion picture. Thus, for example, dramas with comedic overtones should be entered as dramas.”

In the end, even Jordan Peele came to accept the nomination, as he told Deadline.

Ironically, if Get Out does take the award for Best Picture, Comedy or Musical when the Golden Globes is aired live on NBC on Sunday, January 7, it could end up being the funniest thing about the movie.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies” Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale” Chrissy Metz, “This is Us” Michelle Pfeiffer, “The Wizard of Lies” Shailene Woodley, “Big Little Lies”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish” Aziz Ansari “Master of None” Kevin Bacon, “I Love Dick” William H. Macy, “Shameless” Eric McCormack, “Will and Grace”

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television “Big Little Lies” “Fargo” “Feud: Bette and Joan” “The Sinner” “Top of the Lake: China Girl”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Robert De Niro, “The Wizard of Lies” Jude Law, “The Young Pope” Kyle MacLachlan, “Twin Peaks” Ewan McGregor, “Fargo” Geoffrey Rush, “Genius”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television Alfred Molina, “Feud” Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies” David Thewlis, “Fargo” David Harbour, “Stranger Things” Christian Slater, “Mr. Robot”